


Afterglow

by airdeari



Series: self-indulgent aoilight within [14]
Category: Zero Escape (Video Games)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Coital, Toothache-Inducing Marshmallow Fluff, i can't write porn so this is the closest y'all are gonna get, weird anxiety??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:14:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9071152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airdeari/pseuds/airdeari
Summary: Aoi’s whole body shook with laughter that, as he ran out of breath, transformed into genuine giggling. He curled up his knees to his chest as Light ran a thumb over the round apple of his cheek.
“This is your joke you’re laughing at,” Light reminded him.
“Sh—shut up,” Aoi snickered.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've had a trend of making sure all of my AoiLight titles are puns or otherwise have double meanings. I wanted to call this Afterglow on a whim and wondered if I could make it have two meanings, and then when I tried to make it work, I made the trauma boys get anxiety again.
> 
> So CW for a weird panic attack.
> 
> (and for light making gross jokes about bodily fluids he is a MENACE)

Even though Light gave a warning to Aoi before moving, and Aoi said he was ready, he still gave a long groan when Light slid out of him.

“I’m… completely disoriented,” Light exhaled. “Where are the tissues?”

Aoi huffed out a laugh. “Babe, tissues ain’t gonna help,” he panted. “I need a shower. I didn’t get any on you, right?”

“No, I just need to dispose of this so-called _slippery dick bag_.”

Aoi’s whole body shook with laughter that, as he ran out of breath, transformed into genuine giggling. He curled up his knees to his chest as Light ran a thumb over the round apple of his cheek.

“This is _your_ joke you’re laughing at,” Light reminded him.

“Sh—shut up,” Aoi snickered. “Okay, fuck, fuck, I’m gonna get it on the sheets.”

With another drawn-out groan, he slid off of the bedside, shaking like a newborn lamb. His fingers came down hard on Light’s shoulders and squeezed. Light’s face went from flushed and smiling wide enough to show his teeth, to pale and horrorstricken in an instant.

“Did I hurt you?” he uttered.

“N-no, no, I’m… _fuck_. You just… you know you went down on me for fuckin’ five years? I can’t feel my legs.” His hands eased off of the pressure for just a second before clamping back down. “Ugh, fuck, okay, maybe you went a little too hard. But I asked for it.”

Light offered his hand with a knot of concern in his brow. “Can you walk?”

“Hey, put that away, unless you wanna get your hand fuckin’ cemented to my torso.”

“ _Semen_ -ted?”

Aoi curled his fingers into Light’s soft skin as he devolved into uncharacteristic cackling. “S-stop it, you’re,” he gasped, “fuck, gross, it’s drippin’ down my balls—”

“Returning from whence it came,” said Light with a wistful tone.

Aoi could barely even say the word “stop” between his spasms of laughter. His gait was heavy and uneven as he stomped towards the bathroom. Light’s legs were buzzing underneath his skin, too weighty to move with grace, but he stayed close behind Aoi. His toes squished against the carpet until cool tile met his feet.

The faucet unleashed a torrent whose sound echoed off of the walls, accompanied by an undercurrent of water running through the pipes underneath the floor. “Why’re you bein’ so _funny_ alluva sudden?” Aoi whined over the noise, a clear smile in his voice.

“I have had to suppress all jokes for the past hour,” Light replied, reaching for the tissues that sat atop the toilet tank. “Forget the contents of this slippery dick bag. Now is the _true_ release.”

Aoi’s foot banged into the side of the tub as he struggled to keep his composure. His laughter echoed off of the porcelain walls of the shower.

Light balled up the tissue and felt for the rim of the trash bin before dropping it inside. “And why are you so _cheerful_ , might I ask?”

“Sh-shutcher pretty fuckin’ mouth,” Aoi giggled, banging a fist against the wall. “Jus’ ’cuz you fuckin’ snap right back to normal after you blow your load like nothin’ even happened doesn’ mean I can just—”

“Get in the shower, dear.”

“It’s _cold_.”

“You sound like you need a cold shower.”

“Wait, n-no, no, no—!”

Light had reached into the shower and found the faucet with one blind hand. Despite Aoi’s pleas, he pulled up the diverter. The showerhead, still pointed high from when Light used it this morning, had little chance of missing Aoi with its wide, heavy spray.

“ _Fuck_ you, stop it!” Aoi yelled, his feet banging along the floor of the tub as he sought out a dry spot. The smile had still not left his voice.

Light ran a hand through the stream. “It’s not really that cold,” he said.

“You coulda gotten my hair wet.”

He was very particular about his hair—how often it was to be washed, the temperature of the water with which it could be rinsed, and so on. Unfortunately, he was also wrong about Light snapping back to normal post-coitus. Letting a playful smirk slide onto his lips, Light grabbed hold of the showerhead and forced it higher. Aoi screeched with horror.

“Stop, stop, just let me scrub this shit offa me,” he begged.

Light angled the nozzle back down to a typical level. He made his way to the other edge of the shower curtain as the water quieted, hitting soft flesh and dripping down rather than slamming directly into the tub. Lifting the curtain just enough to slip inside, he stepped in behind Aoi.

“What’re you doin’ in here?” Aoi teased, reaching behind to cup Light’s ass with a soap-lathered hand.

“I’ll take a rinse while you’ve got the water running, if that’s alright.”

“Fuck, it got hot, move, _move—_ ”

Almost like a dance, they twirled around each other to trade places, Light standing under the suddenly scalding water while Aoi stayed safe in the back. Light was not any more resistant to high temperatures in particular, but he wanted it to be him, for some reason, to brave the heat and turn the cold water up higher. The water fell to the temperature of his skin.

He had no idea that, while he tilted his head down to bring it underneath the spray of the water, Aoi drank in the sight of him with awestruck eyes and a gaping mouth. Aoi was possessed by a hot feeling he did not know how to express, except by pressing his face to Light’s chest and mumbling, “I’m so _gay_.”

“I thought you were bisexual,” replied Light with a wry smile.

“Light, I _love_ you,” he exhaled.

“Don’t be silly; those are your hormones talking. You just love cock.”

Whatever response Aoi had was spoken directly into the groove above Light’s collarbone and was likely unintelligible to begin with, except for the clearly enunciated “both” that came between the grumbles. He anchored his arms around Light, desperate for closeness, for something to sate the affection welling up inside him. The feel of it made Light’s heart thrum in sympathy. He lifted his hand to the space between Aoi’s shoulder blades, and felt water pooling around his thumb.

“You’re getting your hair wet, darling,” Light murmured.

“Fuck it. I love you. I love you so fuckin’ much I’m gonna fuckin’ die. Oh my _God_.”

Light kissed his wet hair for no more than two seconds before Aoi stole his lips in a ravenous embrace. The only reason they ever let each other go was because Aoi broke the kiss to complain about wanting to be in a bed. He hummed with delight when Light wrapped him in a towel and held him close as they dripped onto the bathmat.

“ _Whoa_. Nice sunset,” Aoi said as they trudged back into the bedroom. He paused by the window to drink it in. “Or maybe it’s just the afterglow, I think the sun’s gone. The sky’s like fire. Bright red, going yellow in the center. Little pink clouds near the edge. They look nice against the blue.”

And for a moment, Light thought he saw it too, glowing past the black silhouettes of pine trees, but there were no pine trees behind their apartment building. A car with no headlights came straight towards him. For the last time ever, he raised his left arm to shield his eyes.

Neither the arm nor the eyes survived.

“Light? Hey. _Hey_.”

Light blinked and came back to the present. His eyes were open, but saw nothing. His arm was burning, but when he reached for it, nothing was there.

“You okay, babe?”

Light opened his mouth a while before he decided to say, “I’m not sure.”

“Alright. Okay,” said Aoi. “Wanna sit down?”

“Yes.”

“Can I touch your hand?”

Light could not tell whether or not it was shaking when he held it out. He was not sure he could have found his way to his bed without the guidance of Aoi’s gentle touch. He had completely lost track of his position.

They had been together long enough that Aoi had figured out how to handle Light’s quiet, near-dissociative panic attacks. He felt as if the connection to his body had been completely severed, and perhaps a piece of his mind cleaved off, as well. He could never tell what was wrong, unless he took things one step at a time.

“D’you wanna be alone?”

Instinctively, Light shook his head.

“Okay. I’m here.” Aoi squeezed his hand. “Did somethin’ trigger?”

It took a while for Light to remember. “Sunsets,” he realized. “It was sunset when…”

His left arm twitched involuntarily, maybe. He felt like the spasm came from his wrist and his elbow, but those were not attached to him anymore. His eyes were burning, but he could not hold them closed.

“Fuck, Light, I didn’t know,” Aoi uttered. “You cold? Want a blanket? I can grab you some comfy clothes if you want.”

Comfy, if he wanted. Aoi had said something before that, too. Two things. The room felt loud even though nothing made a sound.

“Are you cold?”

That was one of the questions, presented with enough space for Light to think about it. He touched the skin on his thigh. His hand was cool with sweat against his lukewarm flesh. “Maybe.”

“Do you want clothes? Pajamas.”

Light imagined the way his legs felt inside flannel pants and nodded.

The bed lifted on his left side. “Boxers or boxer-briefs?” Aoi asked.

“Flannel pants,” Light mumbled.

“Sure, but under that.”

Light furrowed his brow. He imagined feeling a pair of each in his hand. They were not equivalent, objectively. They had differences. Advantages, disadvantages. Pros and cons. One must be better suited to the occasion than the other.

“I’m pickin’ boxers, okay?”

Only one pair of underwear remained in his envisioned grasp. It was suitable. He nodded.

“I’m gonna put it in your hand.” He forced Light’s clenched fist to at least face upright, since it would not open, and laid the boxers on top. “You need help puttin’ it on?”

It was ten minutes more of these simple, slow questions before Light returned to something close to normal. He had his legs in flannel pajamas and a blanket draped over the arm left bare by his t-shirt. Aoi had gotten dressed at the same time and asked whether he could sit close enough to touch. That was where he stayed, a spot of warmth against Light’s side.

“You hungry, babe?” he asked.

“Not very.”

“Thirsty?”

“Not terribly.”

“Okay, but will you get all smiley if I bring you dinner and tea?”

Light gave small smile already. “You’ve done quite enough for me already, I think,” he sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Babe, don’t. You’re literally the easiest person to deal with when you’re havin’ a panic attack, or whatever you call it,” Aoi replied. “I just ask you what you need and you tell me and we’re good. You’re an angel.”

Light felt his face flush. He dipped his head low as his lips broke into an open-mouthed grin.

“Yeah, I’m gonna get you dinner. I’ll do anything for that face.” Aoi’s voice came closer to Light’s ear as he spoke. “Can I kiss your cheek?”

“Feel free,” Light replied.

He took a deeper breath than he had for the past quarter of an hour when Aoi’s warm lips caressed his skin. “Any dinner ideas or should I pick?” he asked.

“Anything warm,” said Light. “And honey chamomile.”

“I know you want honey chamomile. Who d’you think I am, some kinda amateur?” The bed shifted as he stood. “You’ll be okay alone?”

Light nodded after a beat of hesitation that Aoi did not miss.

“I’ll get your phone. Text me if you start feelin’ weird again and you can’t yell.”

When Aoi walked away, Light felt breathless, not out of fear, but more out of a feeling like the one that had overcome Aoi in the shower. As soon as Aoi came back with the phone, Light snaked an arm around him and held him close, burying his face in Aoi’s stomach.

“I love you, too, babe.”

“I love you,” Light whispered.

“Yeah, I know.”


End file.
